I love these placemats! Yes, when you first get them, they do smell like plastic, but it went away after I laid them individually to air them out. We use them everyday (seriously!) and they wipe clean easily--which is key with 2 children. I just make sure they're dry before I stack them up to prevent mildew. One tip: when my kids get tomato sauce on our white gloss mats, it does leave a stain, but I spray a tiny bit of X-14 and it disappears and then wipe clean after.